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So Long, Two Peas . . . You Were Like Family To Me :(

As I explained (at great length) in THIS POST, Two Peas in a Bucket online store and message boards are closing. My understanding is that all content, classes, badges, etc. will cease to exist beyond 07-10-14.

So, for posterity’s sake, here is my Two Peas profile:

journey fan
Member Since April 2007, 12,538 forum posts, 0 public projects
Location: California
PeaNut Number: 308186
PeaBoard Title: “Don’t Stop Believin'”

As you can see, I was a member of the Two Peas community for over 6 years. Since I work from home on the computer all day, I’ve had easy, daily access to the board for all of that time – as my 12,538 posts show, LOL! {Don’t hate}.

When you work from home, you miss the daily chit-chat with co-workers and friends at work. And if you love scrapbooking as much as I do, you look for a message board where you can talk about your Scrapbook Obsession with other crazy fanatics from all over the world.

Then you get sucked in to the NSBR (non-scrapbook related) side of things, when you learn all kinds of things from all kinds of women, get into political debates, ask questions you want real-life answers to, get your daily news, and keep up on all things pop culture.

You can also see that I never posted a single solitary thing to the Two Peas gallery. I’m surprised they didn’t kick me out. The gallery is a BIG deal to the Peas.

Here are some of the badges I earned:

When I say Two Peas was like family to me, this is what I mean:

I was attached and had ties there so long and strong that even when I wanted to break up the relationship, I couldn’t.

Two Peas brought me such joy at times that I couldn’t wait to spend time with it, but it also brought me such pain and sadness that I would avoid it for weeks.

Two Peas NSBR – like an older sister – knows how to push my buttons and make me so freakin’ angry I could spit . . . but I loved it at the same time because it made me consider things from other perspectives, strengthening my views on some topics and completely changing my views on others.

Like family, Two Peas was just a constant in my life that I never planned to turn my back on. Our relationship ebbed and flowed over the years.

But now it’s done :(

Two Peas: I love you, I hate you, I like you, I’ll miss you.

Family forever . . .

No hard feelings. I wish you the best.

Happy (Inter)National Scrapbook Day 2014!

It’s always been known as National Scrapbook Day here in the ol’ US of A but with scrapbooking being such a global community, I’ve noticed a lot of scrappers now referring to it as International Scrapbook Day or iNSD which I think is awesome!

I hope you’re having a day full of scrappy goodness. I have to work today (boo hoo) but – purely in the interest of promoting our hobby and doing something scrappy today – I plan to hit a few of the online NSD sales and see what trouble I can get into ;)

I’m also planning to talk by phone with a long-time online scrapbook friend later this morning. We’ve “known” each other for years but this will be the first time we’ve spoken. I cherish the friendships I’ve made through this blog and the scrapbook message boards I’m on. In fact, one of my BFF’s is someone I met through a scrapbook MB <3.

I wanted to share a freebie that I KNOW you’re gonna’ like – and it’s from one of my fave companies, SIMPLE STORIES.

These free printables go with their brand new “Good Day Sunshine” line and HERE is the link. It can take a while to load so be patient, girlie.

Also, check out one of my other fave companies, BASIC GREY today! You can get this FREE PRINTABLE . . .

and they’re having a great sale, giveaways, etc.

Man, you need to go strolling around the scrappy internet today. There are so many sales, freebies, games, giveaways, and challenges! And THIS is why interNational Scrapbook Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year :)

LOVE TO ALL MY SCRAPPIN’ FRIENDS and HAPPY interNATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY!!!!

Scrapbook Message Board: Club CK {Creating Keepsakes} Closes Effective 06-15-13 :(

One of the things I try to do with this blog is make note of milestones that happen in our industry … and I missed a big one. So I’m going to post about it now, a few weeks late (sorry).

On 05-17-13, the many loyal members of Club CK were treated to this message from Creating Keepsakes:

Club CK Forum Participants,

We at Creating Keepsakes are grateful for the readers that are part of Club CK; for the creativity you share, the enthusiasm you have for the hobby, and your dedication to preserving your memories and improving the craft. As we move our focus towards online initiatives, we are evaluating all aspects of our business.

In looking at Club CK and the areas it offers our readers we feel the focus should be on creativity and idea sharing, which is evident by the number of layouts shared daily in the galleries. To make better use of our resources and provide the best online and print offerings we can, we are opting to discontinue the forum portion of Club CK as of June 15, 2013.

In this digital age, the internet is full of forums, many have existed for years and have fully developed communities and we hope that you will find one that meets your needs. Below are a few that we think would be a great place to start your search for an online forum:

Two Peas in a Bucket
Splitcoaststampers.com
Scrapbook.com
ScrapJazz

We are excited about the future and the media options we are planning for you, our readers. We look forward to seeing you around the Creating Keepsakes community.

Stacy Croninger

Digital Managing Editor

This post generated (to date) a heartbreaking 17-page thread of disbelief, confusion, gratitude, suggestions, and most of all sadness :( For as long as the link works, HERE is where you can see it.

I’m writing this post on 07-07-13 and the board is still online. There are occasional posts but it seems most members have moved on to other scrapbook message boards. There’s a board called “scrappin-peeps” that was created and will be hosted by former Club CK members. You can join HERE.

Club CK was not the first message board from Creating Keepsakes. The original board, which I joined back in the early 2000’s, was called CKMB (guess what that stood for? lol). I was very active on there, met a lot of wonderful online friends, and have such good memories. I’m still in touch with several of the ladies I met there.

Then there was another CK board called Scrap and Paper-something (?) but I’m not going to find it or link it because people have had problems there (being able to see other members’accounts, I think). But it also ‘closed’ and apparently only the gallery remains.

Then Club CK came along. If I remember right, it was part of the plan for scrapbookers to pay a monthly fee to be part of the Club, have access to a special board, and exclusive content. (Am I remembering that right? Someone correct me if I’m not). I never paid for anything but continued to post at Club CK although the magic was kinda’ gone for me after being put through 2 board switches. And by that time I’d become much more active on Two Peas as well.

So as we shut the door on Club CK, here were my stats: Joined 02-04-10 and had 112 posts.

Forum Statistics
61,706 users have contributed to 367,089 threads and 716,398 posts (as of 07-07-13 at 5pm PST).

All this sadness may seems strange but unless you’ve been an active member of a scrapbooking board for a long time, maybe it’s hard to understand. I think many avid scrapbookers don’t have people IRL who will put up with us talking about it 24/7, look at pages with praise, share shopping deals, celebrate our victories in life and hug us through the sad times, discuss books, current events, or whatever – all with a happy, positive attitude and genuine care. That’s what CKMB and Club CK were to me and I hope you were able to be part of that, too.

We’ll miss you, Club CK …

PS: I would love to hear from you about your experience at CKMB and Club CK. Feel free to mourn, celebrate, complain about the closure … whatever is in your heart. Please know that I get it and totally sympathize :(

Cyber Monday: Scrapbook Style!

There were so many great deals out there today – Cyber Monday. I was tempted mightily but held my ground and didn’t make any online purchases today.

And then I saw this:

I’ve been wanting to join the Simple Scrapper site as a premium member for months now but couldn’t afford the full price. Then I got an e-mail that for today only, there is a special!!!

When the Premium Membership re-opens for 2013, the price will be $39 for the first month and then $9.95 monthly. Annually, that’s $149. But today, you can get that same year for just $89. This will be the lowest price you’ll ever see for one year of full premium benefits.

So I decided to join :) I love everything Jennifer Wilson stands for and does on her site. That Everyday Storyteller book in my right sidebar? -> That’s from her. Awesome book.

Here is some of what you get as a Premium Member of Simple Scrapper:

Premium Members receive complimentary access to our new-for-2013 program. Focus will provide the guidance you need to save time and scrapbook more with monthly video lessons, action-oriented assignments and four week-long special events.

January – Plan Your Year: Set fun goals for all-year-long mojo
April & October – Stash Bash: Use Up + Declutter + Organize
July – Summer Camp: Get reinvigorated for 6 more months of memory keeping

You get sketches and prompts every month, a message board, Facebook group, and lots of other resources to help you K-I-S-S! {Keep it simple, Scrapper!}. The whole philosophy of the site reminds me of all that I’ve been missing since the demise of Simple Scrapbooks magazine. Even the look of the site itself is beautifully simple.

Oh yeah, this is SO what I need! If you might be interested as well, please click on this icon to learn more about it:

Time is running out though!

A New (and yet old) Message Board Community: Scrap Sisters Studio

I wanted to apologize for being such a bad blogger of late but the reason is a good one. Ohhhhh, sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful….erm, message board?

You may have heard me mention, oh once or eleventy-billion times, that my message board home is a place called AMR, All Moments Remembered. It was a message board started by a sweet friend and online store owner named Stacey. At the time AMR began, I had been a fixture at the Creating Keepsakes Message Board (CKMB) for about a year or so. {Remember when I had all the CKMB girls’ blogs in my blog roll…until there were over 100 of them and I had to stop).

But, honestly, for all the fun friends and conversations I had there, it was such a HUGE place, that it never truly felt like home to me. I’m one of those gals that, if you and I are friends, I got ya back for life, sista. Don’t mess with my friends and we won’t have a problem. You know, like we did in the Old Country (I’m Italian, capice?). But I’ve only got so much love to go around, ya know? Ten-thousand “friends” on the CKMB is a lot to handle, even for someone like me, LOL!

Well, then God sent me Stacey. She joined CKMB with her little bubbly personality, enthusiasm for life, and love for scrapbooking. Like me, her dream was to open a scrapbook store. The difference between us was that I talked about it. She was actually gonna do it. We became fast friends, chatting on and off the CKMB board. She started a blog to promote her new online store which she called All Moments Remembered, and I loved reading each day what the developments were with her store, the excitement in her voice, and the positive outlook she had on everything.

Then came the day when Stacey got booted from CKMB. {This story is well-known folklore, so I’m not speaking out of school, k?}. The TOU at CKMB clearly said you could not have a business name as your message board name, nor anything in your message content or signature line that promoted another business. Because obviously, Creating Keepsakes is a business who wants to continue as such, and they want you to buy THEIR products, not some cute lady’s from Oregon who just started the best online scrap store in the world. Apparently, Stacey was *cough* unclear on those rules, or her glasses fogged up that day, or SOMETHING…because she changed her MB name from whatever it was (“scraphappy” or something like that) to “AllMomentsRemembered.”

Scandal. Just pure scandal.

So, CKMB powers-that-be sent her a nasty-gram and when she didn’t cease and desist, they booted her. In true Stacey spirit, what did she do? Oh, she just started her OWN message board, of course. And THAT, my friends, is how the All Moments Remembered Message Board was started. I signed up on the first day the AMR-MB was up, which was December 27, 2007. I was proud to be member #29. As of closing today, there were 826 members but I believe at times there were over 1,000 or more). Also, as of today, I was the #3 poster @ AMR, right behind those Chatty Cathy’s named JENNIFER/Jingle and ABBY/scrapbookfrenzy.

So, for almost 2 years now, I’ve been chatting pretty much daily with the AMR Girlz. I would never have thought you could be “true friends” with people you’ve never even met face-to-face, who live all over the country, most of whom you’ve never even spoken to. If you stop to think about it, it’s our computers, our technology, that is actually making the connection, so it’s kind of bizarre. The only way I know most of them is from words they’ve typed that I’m reading, kwim?

But I have to say, I love those gals and they are my TRUE, dear friends. AMR was a smaller board and it didn’t move that the speed of light, like CKMB, 2peas, or the Cricut board. Sometimes I get frustrated when I want to chat and no one is around. “I need some chat, people!” Sheesh. But I would trade “busy but impersonal” for “quieter but more meaningful” any day of the week.

Stacey really set the tone for that board to be encouraging, friendly, supportive, and fun. We joked, we laughed, we shared our work, and our scrap shopping finds. There was a Chit Chat board for discussing TV shows, family stuff, you name it. There was a Spiritual forum where we could ask for prayers, and where a special lady named MISTY/snowlady posted daily quotes from Scripture. And we can’t forget the Recipe forum, where you could share or request yummy recipes from your AMR friends.

Another cool thing Stacey did was to give us “Stacey names.” Under your message board name and above your avatar photo, sometime when you weren’t looking and maybe didn’t even notice for a while, Stacey would add a special name chosen just for you, based on her getting to know you over time and finding out what phrase really represented you, be it funny, sweet, or serious. For instance, MARILYN/Melonscraps was christened “Stickles Queen” for her amazing love of and collection of Stickles; ANGIE/craftyscrapr became “Miss Pretty Toes” because she loves the beach and her flip flops with painted toenails; and I was given the Stacey name “Director of Advertising.” Which was funny because some people may have thought it was an actual title I held with the AMR store, and that I was a paid employee, but nope, lol. I just loved AMR so much, I talked about it and steered people towards her store any time I could. Stacey was living my dream and I did whatever I could to support her.

Which reminds me of a story….Remember that crazy scrapbook product frenzy, the THREADING WATERS punch by Fiskars? The first time I saw that thing, I knew it was going to be a hugely popular tool so I tipped Stacey off about it, and she had faith that I knew what I was talking about. So she right away ordered a whole bunch of them from Fiskars. And when they flew off the shelves at Michaels, Target, and all the online scrapbook stores, no one had them in stock anymore….except Stacey. For a while there, AMR was one of the only places you could buy that darn punch, and not on backorder, but actually get it right then. Stacey never forgot I had told her about it. She never tried to take credit for it or anything. She told everyone else, “Erika is the one who told me to get those!” And she sent me the most generous gift box of supplies from her store, just as a way to say thank you. Actually, that’s another thing Stacey was known for was being very generous in giving away her products as RAKS, crop prizes, and you always got extra items with your order, things she had handpicked for you, knowing what each of us liked. I don’t know how she did it, honestly.

Well, fast forward to the economic collapse last year, and long story short, the AMR online store eventually was closed. However, in the meantime, Stacey had realized her other dream of opening an actual brick-and-mortar store in her hometown. Over time, Stacey has had to move on from the AMR MB and the inmates have taken over the asylum, LOL! Stacey could no longer support the MB so several months ago, she offered to let members take it over, and DENISE/denisewalks stepped up to the plate. Denise has been running AMR since then, with a little bit of admin support from me, and lots of help from lots of other members. We’ve managed to keep AMR MB going and as fun and wonderful as it ever was.

But the time had come for a fresh start, where Denise and the loyal board members could be more in control of the mechanics of the board. Also, with Stacey no longer associated with the board, a new name for our gathering place was in order. A new domain name was procured by Denise (at her personal expense, but we’re going to find a creative way to make the board pay for itself and/or many generous members have offered to chip in so Denise doesn’t have to absorb the cost herself).

So today, October 27, 2009….Scrap Sisters Studio was born.

We had a Scrap Chat Hour tonight to kind of kick off the new site, and help get the word out to everyone that we’ve officially moved. I can’t think of a more perfect name for our board, because the ladies there are truly like family. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not perfect. Like any family in the world, we occasionally have scuffles and squabbles, hurt feelings and unspoken hurts, frustrations and unfairness. I mean, we’re women after all, LOL! But it always works itself out and the family bond is as tight as ever. New members are welcomed from Day One like they’ve been there the entire time.

It felt weird writing all those things above about the way AMR “was,” in the past tense. Because those things still apply to the way Scrap Sisters Studio “is” and “will always be.” It’s a warm, fun, friendly home away from home and even if they try to kick me out, I’m never leaving. Seriously. Don’t even try ‘cuz I grew up in The Hood and can kick serious ass.

Capice?

This post is just my way of memorializing AMR, Stacey’s store, everything that brought this group of sweet scrapbookers together and still bind them. I wanted to honor Stacey because it was her personality and efforts that set us up to be the way we are now. And for that, we owe her a debt of gratitude. {Stacey, if you’re out there, MWUH! Love ya, girl}.

And this post was a way to celebrate, and document on my own blog, this day being the start of something new and fun for me and my scrappy girlfriends.

We always welcome new members. HERE is where you would sign up. (ETA: When you register, you will NOT get an e-mail confirmation. Sorry, this new board doesn’t have that feature. We’re approving new members as quickly as we can, so please give it a little wait, then try to log in until it works :). We’ve got some fun plans for the Scrap Sisters Studio website as a whole, so this is going to be a great new adventure! Thank you for letting me talk about my buds…I {heart} them like sisters.

Scrapbook Message Boards: Survey and a RAK

As you might know, I’m a big fan of chatting on scrapbook message boards. The ones I’m most active on TWO PEAS IN A BUCKET and ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED. I was on the CREATING KEEPSAKES message board for a long time before these, although all their format changes caused me to leave when I had to log on every single time I wanted to post (ya know, that’s quite a lot!) and would never accept an avatar pic, which made me feel like a faceless troll, LOL!

So, I’m just wondering what message boards you all enjoy. Please leave me a comment telling me where you like to hang out. Include linkees please! Tell me what you like and don’t like about message boards (you don’t have to name names on the negative part if ya don’t want to…). What makes a good message board? Why are you a long time member of certain places? Tell me all about it. Don’t forget to leave a link to your blog or check back to see if you’ve won!

For everyone who leaves a comment on THIS here post by midnight PST on June 11, 2009…I will enter your name into random.org and pick the winner of a small RAK.

Scrapbooker Blahs

I’ve got ’em and it’s not just me. I’ve noticed the following in the last week or so:
– The scrapbook message boards are slow. Like watching pain dry. This pains me.
– The CK Media “reorganization” news is harshing everyone’s mellow.
– Either the new CHA products do not excite, or if they do, no one can afford to buy them. Manufacturers are desperately calling/e-mailing retailers, who can’t afford to buy much.
– Erin Lincoln says she’s not been paid in awhile….where does that leave CKMB?
– 2peas boards have been down all night

For me personally, there’s this kinda stuff:
– I posted a restaurant rant on 2peas, expecting about 90% support, and got much less than that. Didn’t ‘splain myself well enough, for one thing. And beyond that, it’s just cranky time, I guess.
– Landry was overnight at the vet hospital getting his manly bits removed. It was practically unbearable how much I missed him.
– DH and I got our first paychecks today since pay cuts….major ouch. How do you cut hundreds more dollars from a budget that is already bare bones? {Yes, I would get rid of my internet but I need it for work, natch}.
– Lastnight to cheer myself up, I decided to cash in a $15 product credit I’ve had for 6+ months at MEMORY WORKS (it was a consultant referral reward). Got all twitterpated over the Jenni Bowlin “Farmer’s Wife” and die cut calendar cards I had in my cart. Went to cash out and it declined my card. Found out today from the bank… they closed my scrapbook spendy account back in December…due to lack of activity. What in the HAY-ELL is that about??
– Just plain tired and feeling the blues…

As for my scrapping, I’m actually kinda’ re-energized after my crop last weekend, yet there has been no TIME or ENERGY to get to it.

How can we turn this around, ladies?
– Stacey at AMR had the right idea. She started a HAPPY THREAD with a little prize. That cheered me a bit :)
SASSAFRASS LASS and new BAZZILL cardstock packs at Mike’s!!!!! And a coupon this week!!!!!
– Would a couple Landry photos help? Well, here ya go…Could he BE any cuter?!?!

100_5772

100_5773

Are you having the Scrapbooker Blahs? Lie right down on my couch and tell me all about it…..

Cards For A Mom With Cancer

acardforlois.jpg

Wilna Furstenburg is a well known scrapbooker; you’ve seen her work in CK as a Hall of Famer, in Memory Makers, lots of places. She has a dear friend with cancer and is asking for a simple favor in exchange for a chance to win a large RAK. We’re talking about it on the message boards at AMR and CKMB. Please help out if you can! I just wanted to help Wilna spread the word. This is from her POST, dated 2-19-08:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
I have a friend, Lois. She is 40 years old and have cancer. She is in pain and needs positive, uplifting people to remind her continually to live and that life is worth living. She has an amazing husband and four beautiful kids. The doctors are not giving her long to live, but I believe that God is the author of life. And I know you believe that too.

WHAT?
If you want to be entered into this awesome draw (and if anyone want to contribute prizes, big or small, please email me) then this is what you are going to do: take 10 minutes of your time and create a card for Lois. A card that speaks of life and laughter, of fun and flowers. A word of encouragement, maybe your favorite scripture. Take a picture of it and upload it HERE {on Wilna’s blog} for all to see. Then you post it to her. I visit her every day and I will make a list of all the cards she gets and I will let her draw names out of a hat for winners. The deadline for all the cards to reach her in Canada is March 20th. So, if you want to play (and I hope every single person that reads this will) make her a card, and post it. THAT’s how simple it will be.

Please email me: wilna71@gmail.com if you want to participate. I will email you her address. Those who are willing to add this little he{ART} flower to your blog to help me get the word out, will be in my good books for life. You can just right click the image and save it to your computer and add it to a side bar. Please link THIS post to it.

I am going to drive you nuts. I love this girl with all my heart. I just want the best for her. AND I KNOW AMAZING PEOPLE like you, who can contribute to her life. I am calling all my friends from America, Australia, Poland, Holland, Canada, India and SOUTH AFRICA and the whole world to play. Most of all I hope that you would do it to give back. To remember that you have something to be grateful for. Come on girls, email me. Make those cards. Imagine her smile and tears and amazement that people care. Imagine that. I will report it all back to you. I promise.

I have not said a word to her. It’s for you to surprise her.
PLEASE say yes!
Love
Wilna
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think we’ve all had someone in our family who has dealt with cancer. My heart hurts with how unfair this is :( “There but for the grace of God go I…” Please send a card, spread the word, help a friend do what she can to help. Be a positive force. Bring a smile to the face of a mommy faced with leaving her children. Create positive thoughts in her heart, that allow her body to fight the cancer. Thank you :)

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